Selling a non smog compliant car
 

I'm considering selling my 911SC. I live in California, and it is a California car, so it was equipped with a smog pump, cat. converter, etc. Right now I have the exhaust system backdated. Needless to say, it won't pass the visual right now. I could put everything back to stock, and I know it won't take that much time, but I am at the point where I just want to sell it and move on (I think). So, my question is can I advertise it to potential buyers who live in regions where smog compliance is not an issue? Would I have to smog my car before selling to someone who lives in such a region?

It is my understanding that there is no region of California where you do not have to comply with the smog laws, however, there are regions where an owner does not have to have the bi-annual checks yet any transfer of ownership (outside of the standard exemptions like between relatives) still requires a smog certification.

you can sell it to anyone willing to buy it "as is". Tell them that you want them to smog it.
If I remember correctly, in Cali, the seller is responsible for the smog cert when selling a vehicle, but if the buyer is will to smog it.....then you're ok.

Sell it as a sculpture.

I know that if I were to buy it (which not interested) I would need nothing but the car and the title and I would be good to go. no issues.

Sell it out of State.

Thank you for all your responses. I have a better understanding now.

One more thing: have you ever grown too attached to a material item, which prompted you to get rid of it? If so, did you regret it later?

Always.

You could always get a PO box in a county that does not have the biennial smog inspections, but that may not fly

No issue keeping it backdated. It is an issue, however, if I were to sell it like that.

Tobra, can you elaborate on your comment, "Always?"

Yea the seller is responsible for ensuring that it'll pass (at least this is the way it was a few years ago when I lived there, probably hasn't changed). Sell it out-of-state. Maybe you can get away with "for parts only" or "off road use only" but that could still be sticky if you get a buyer who's a prick.

If you sell it and include the smog equipment for the new owner to reinstall for a smog inspection, I would sell it and note that on the receipt saying the owner is buying the car as is and agrees to be responsible for getting the smog inspection done within the time frame required by the DMV for registering the car. You are still responsible for getting the smog inspection done since you are the seller, but a (sort of) written agreement assigning responsibility might get the new owner to get it done rather than put it on the back burner.

in what way? Are you talking spritually? You can never get rid of attachment to "things" don't even try. However if you feel like it is taking over your thoughts then you may want to sell it to see how it affects you. Attachment to things drops away by itself when you no longer seek to find yourself in them.

That's it; well put. It may seem stupid, but my 911 has become part of my identity. It is an extension of my type A, relentless, and anal retentive personality.

In CA, the seller has to make the smog check when selling a car or smog required truck such as a diesel F350. This is true if the car is from out of state also and in that case the car has to have a "50 state" VIN or tag in the engine compartment. We went through this with my wife's Caddy and it failed and the dealer tried to convince her to buy the car and they would get it to pass "later"! I made her wait until he had the smog cert in hand before she could buy it.

Smog Information has the info but there is an out in the online documentation IF you can find it.

Sell it out of state.

If there are potential liabilities for you selling as is in state then smog it before selling local.

FWIW, at that age many states will not require emissions as part of the inspection especially if the car is registered as a classic/antique.

Here in TX historic gets a visual and safety check, brakes, lights, signals.

Do you think I would have an easier time selling it if I made it a 50 state vehicle again? I guess I'll have time to think this through because the engine is about to come out for the usual oil leak fixes. Replacing the needed parts to make it smog compliant will be even more easily done at that time. Maybe while I'm doing this stuff I'll get over my, "I need to sell my too involving car" phase I'm going through. Jeeze, what a spaz I can be. No, I don't need medication.

If you live in California, of course it will be easier to sell it if you restore the OEM smog equipment. Because if you don't put that stuff back into place, then you really will not be able to sell it to anyone in-state. Or at least not to about 95% of Californians, as they won't have the time/desire/skills to get it to pass the visual part of smog inspection. Then, you're pretty much stuck selling it to out-of-staters (and this is a big state--not like New England where you can pass through 5 states within 2 hours) or to a buyer from a foreign country. Even with the internet, that's got to be more difficult than selling it locally.

This is California, where it's the seller's responsibility to get a car smogged prior to sale. If you sell someone a car that they can't get smogged, don't be surprised when they come back and try to make that your problem instead of their's.

It is the seller's responsibility to smog it before selling, if you (or the buyer want to register the car for road use). That said, your best bet is to sell it out of state, or to retrofit the exhaust so that it will pass. Alternately, you can non-op the registration and sell it as a track car, with title only, and a stack of disclosures that it is not for road use and cannot be registered, but that will hurt its value.

The disclosure of "as-is" on the bill of sale indicates to the buyer and the DMV that it may not run, or pass smog without repair and the seller is no longer required to provide a smog certificate.

This is typical of the sale of a parts car, project car, salvaged title or race car.

Look at the DMV website. Download their bill of sale form.
I believe there is a box to check if the car is sold "as-is".


KT

If I am attached to something and let it go, I have always regretted it.

If you are not going to retrofit it, sell it out of state or change the registration to a county that does not do the visual and get a PO box, though I am not sure that would fly. It would probably pass the sniffer.